


Shadow Project East: Fantastic Files of Tono

by Its_Neko_Time



Series: Shadow Project East: Cyberpunk Touhou [1]
Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Drama, F/F, Implied Relationships, Technology, Touhou In 2080, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-25
Packaged: 2018-05-30 12:50:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6424813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Its_Neko_Time/pseuds/Its_Neko_Time
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gensokyo with a much more modern feel.<br/>Marisa and Alice are bounty hunters, tasked to exterminate feral youkai. However, after a group of them ambushes the pair, they're forced to separate to even the odds.</p><p>There's violence within but spared from being too graphic.</p><p>May or may not become part of a series later on, if I get more ideas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Alice slammed the door behind her, panting from the exertion of sprinting up several flights of stairs. She stopped only to swipe her hand over the doorknob, which growled with a series of clicks as the deadbolt hammered into place. Exhausted, she stumbled forward a few steps, but her knees quickly gave out on her, as she slumped to the floor. She let out a deep breath, as she conceded to the whims of her body, leaning back against the wall to her side. She glanced at the door - it looked sturdy enough, it'd hold. She then looked forwards, reclining her head back as her eyes glance out the bare window frame, its concrete cracked and weathered. It'd likely been decades since it once held glass. 

The sky outside was grey, lifeless, dull. It was late morning, but the overcast skies made it feel like night was approaching. Rain was likely - or rather, guaranteed, given the forecasts. Unfortunately, rain wasn't likely to do anything to help clean this barren wasteland. In fact, the smog and smoke that choked the skies made it more likely the rain would be closer to acid than water. But that was just life out here. 

Below the skies lied only the ruins of a long abandoned city. Crumbling towers and empty streets filled it, and little more. The former purpose or names of the former residents of Mayohiga were long since lost to time. Though, it wasn't tough to guess who the current residents were.

Alice sighed, her labored breathing slowing down as her heart settled into place. She couldn't rest for long, so she had to make the most of her time. Besides, she was needed, and had to get back to her partner, who wouldn't live long without her. 

Not for lack of trying, at least. Far, far from it. Still, her partner was likely to run into (more) trouble. Or more likely, find and make it. Then, her partner would need backup. -Alice's- backup. Alice frowned at the idea. She wondered how her partner was doing after that last skirmish. It was a good time to check. With a simple thought she opened up the radio channel, keeping her voice low enough that the sub-vocal microphone would pick it up, but not loud enough to distract her from her surroundings. "Whiskey Mike, what's your status? Over."

No response came after a few seconds, enough to worry Alice. Was she busy with a firefight? Was she hiding and couldn't respond? Her bio- *BZZZZT* The radio crackling to life interrupted her thoughts. "Hey Alice, I managed to fend 'em off for now, I scared the big blighter and chased it off to a large building a click north. Gonna see if I can finish it off, I'm pretty sure I blasted 'em pretty good. You doin' okay, Alice?"

Alice groaned, wiping her hand down her face in annoyance. Typical of her to ignore every single protocol. "Whiskey Mike, please use the proper callsign on comms. Also, you need to say 'over' when you're finished speaking. Over." she murmured, letting her frustration be apparent over the channel.

Her partner chuckled. "Gonna take that to mean you're doin' alright." she replied, obviously amused. "Who's gonna listen in out here anyway? The critters? Ya' think they're gonna hack -your- comms? Pfft."

Alice muttered a growl back, irritated. She had a point. Both points, actually. It was far from likely her comms could get hacked, and the location was quite remote. Her partner was unlikely to concede to her requests anyway, making the point moot. She sighed. "Alright, Marisa, fine. You win. For today. However, we need to regroup."

"Hee hee..." her partner, Marisa, chuckled. She could practically hear the grin she was sure to be wearing on her face, for getting Alice to concede. "Right-o." Marisa crackled back. "Some critters still went after you when I held off the big one, but its nothing ya' can't handle on your own. I'm gonna scout this building for the big one while ya' take care of that and move yer' cute butt back to me."

Alice scoffed as her face heated up, the last line making her heart flutter. She stammered, "M-Marisa! Now's not the time to be flirting! We're on a mission, save it for later whe-"  
BANG BANG BANG BANG  
Alice squeaked as something began to smash against the door. Damn, she'd been getting too loud. Quickly she relayed the information, "It looks like the critters you mentioned caught up. Don't bite off more than you can chew, okay? I will see you soon."

"Yeah yeah, I'll be careful. See ya' soon, Alice." Marisa replied, sounding bored, as the radio crackled dead. The statement wasn't at all convincing, but that was typical of Marisa. 

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

That couldn't be ignored for long. The door was sturdy, but even the small critters would bust it down given enough time, patience, and energy. Things which those critters had plenty of in spades. It was time to get to work.


	2. Chapter 2

The metal door rattled on its hinges as the creature on the other side slammed ceaselessly against it, creating a terrible racket. However, Alice simply tuned it out. Aware of its presence, and aware it wouldn't stop. The inevitability was that what lay behind was going to get through eventually. The bolt would snap, or the hinges would give, or it may simply rip through the metal or rock. However, it still gave her ample time to prepare.

Alice stood up, dusting herself off. Specks of concrete rolled off her gothic lolita dress, colored dark blue with white strings and frills. It was fairly elaborate, and of course stylish, but also designed not to impede mobility. It was split in all the right places for her to easily move her legs. Better still, it had Kevlar strips woven into vital areas, and wrapped over top were dark red tactical straps covered in pockets and pouches for her gear. She had stitched the whole outfit together,, creating a perfect balance of beauty and utility.

Alice took a deep breath, briefly forgetting her surroundings, and letting herself concentrate. A yearning feeling gripped at her chest, as if she were missing something that she couldn't quite grasp. This place was far too remote, but she would have to manage.  
Her eyes fluttered open as a new view flourished before her. Her eyes shimmered with light as she took in what she could. Among the ruins of the city, the abandoned building came a little more to life. Fragmented strings of numbers and letters now hover about this place in plain view, left to gather dust like the rest of this city. The reception was spotty in a place this out of the way, causing packets of code to fragment and fall apart as they passed through, disintegrating before they could form something meaningful. 

Displays and HUDs popped to life in front of her, giving her vital information on her surroundings and gear. A biomonitor labeled "Marisa" hovered in the right corner of her vision, displaying nothing out of the ordinary, and included her partner's coordinates relative to her position. Important to know. More statistics dotted the edges of her vision. Weather conditions - indeed it'd rain soon - local maps, the building layout, camera feeds, power levels, connection status, static levels, etc etc. Information filled her field of view, and she quickly took it in with but a thought, satisfied all was nominal.

She exhaled deeply, blinking, concentrating. Before her, two dozen strings appeared, shimmering and glowing a full spectrum of colors, some extending far away, others just a few inches, jutting out of her dress, in slightly more muted colors. Each one included a small virtual icon that displayed small sets of statistics, as well as a tiny camera feed that could be enlarged. She tugged at a few strings, beckoning a couple of her dolls towards her for aid. Heads up displays gave timers on an ETA towards her location. They had ample time.

She reached down to undo a few straps of her dress, detaching three of the folded up dolls stored away. They were each a couple pounds and folded up into thick five-inch squares, extraordinarily small compared to other models from just five years ago, 

She made measured tosses with them to key locations, gyro sensors moving the dolls' weights to land on the ground face-up. They quickly began to unfold as the shimmering rainbow strings attaching them to Alice turned vibrant. They were constructing themselves, attaching various electronic parts together automatically, and lifting off the ground slightly to allow their treads room to maneuver. 

She gave mental commands to her dolls as they sprung up and turned to face the door. The small mobile drones confirmed full operational status. Two were positioned against both walls, the other right in front of Alice. The door frame was starting to crack around the hinges and bolt, as the the critter threw itself at the door with wild abandon. It wouldn't be more than a minute now. As if on cue, three more drones flew in through the window, lifted by dual rotors. They positioned themselves in the air, pointing their turrets towards the door in anticipation.

Satisfied with the positioning of her dolls, Alice nodded to herself. She reached for her hip to unholster a large but slender pistol. Its own Augmented Reality icon appeared on screen as it booted, calculating current aim distances and power cartridge charge. Unlike Marisa, who loved to use her big, heavy firearms whenever she could, Alice only used her single pistol and a bag full of power cartridges. Of course, it may have been cheating that she also had two dozen drones to call and provide fire support, but the sidearm was more than enough.

It was just a few more moments. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. CRACK! The door frame shuddered with a sickening sound, crumbling as the door's bolt forced its way through the wall, bent and worthless. With one more thundering smack, the door flew open, slamming against the wall, a huge dent visible on the side where it'd been repeatedly smashed against.

What lay beyond looked almost human at first sight. But Alice wasn't fooled in the slightest. The woman was covered in bruises and scars. Her right arm hung limp at her side, flesh and bone torn and broken, and her side beaten and bruised from beating the door. The muscle in the arm rippled, but there was no blood. Thin, stringy red hair dangled from her head in locks, did little to hide the girl's wreched face: beady, souless eyes stared forwards, bright red. Her expression was intense, craving. The barest of shreds of clothing adorning her body mirrored what little sanity this youkai had left.

The feral youkai simply stood there at first, staring Alice down. It didn't seem to even glance at or register the small battalion of drones, it focused solely on Alice. Alice held the strings tied to her nearby drones altogether in anticipation, watching carefully, ready to fire. It took short, sniveling breaths, hissing with each exhale. Its arm twitched, as the bones sticking out of its arm slowly sunk back in. With a few spasms and a nauseating crackle, it suddenly seemed to gain function again, no longer hanging limp. Its muscles slowly tensed up, causing Alice to tightly grip the virtual strings. It was ready.

In a flash the youkai was upon her with a piercing howl. However, she stood her ground, relaying the command to fire. All at once, the drones unleashed a hailstorm of laser pulses back at the charging creature, having been carefully aimed the moment prior. Before the youkai could take even two steps, its torso and face had already been reduced to a charred mess. Screaming in agony, it only manages one more step forwards before it falls. It slammed face-first onto the hard concrete floor. The drones stopped firing. The hall went silent again.

Alice glanced over the charge readings on her dolls. Most of them had plenty of energy left, though the airborne ones had a little bit less, being fliers. They'd need charged eventually, but would probably be fine for the remainder of the mission. She instructed one doll, the one closest to the youkai, to move to it and scan it for life signs. The doll quickly complied, the tracks scraping along the ground breaking the silence as it preformed the deed. A small beep and a diagnostics reading popping into her field of view confirmed that the youkai's vital signs were zero.

She felt a little nervous, and wary. Marisa hadn't said that only one youkai had followed her up, she'd said 'some'. That shouldn't have been the only one, especially with all that racket. She nodded to the doll, motioning for it to go up and scout the hallway, manipulating the string with her fingers. A ping, only heard by Alice, sounded from the drone as it trekked towards the doorway, transmitting a camera feed directly onto Alice's AR display. It arrived at the doorway, quickly swiveling its camera around as it monitored the surroundings.

As the camera turned to the left, however, another youkai suddenly appeared from behind the corner, It kicked the drone hard enough to smash it against the opposite wall. With a ravenous gurgle, it swung around the corner, rushing at Alice. Again, Alice commanded her dolls to fry the youkai. Hot flashes of light filled the air as the drones opened fire, but this youkai had learned from the other's mistakes. It dropped to the ground, clawing its way forward at Alice on its hands and feet, dodging nearly all of the bolts. With a starved howl, it charged. Alice moved to react, lifting her pistol, but she wasn't fast enough. The youkai was already upon her as it leaped to attack, claws extended! 

Or so it thought. As it was pouncing, one last drone stood between it and Alice, having held its fire. Until now. At once, the drone spewed out a stream of white-hot fire, setting the youkai ablaze as liquid fire doused its skin. Alice cleanly sidestepped the leaping critter as it took the full burst of her doll's micro-flamethrower. It crashed onto the ground and roared in pain. The critter writhed and rolled as the sticky napalm slowly cooked it alive. Alice carefully lowered her pistol, aiming for the youkai's head as it wrestled to put itself out, She pulled the trigger, blasting a searing beam of energy at the burning beast. With a great spasm, it too, went limp, the spray-on napalm continuing to eat at it. Alice leaned down and reached her hand into the flames, scanning it briefly with a handheld biomonitor. She had to ensure it was dead, and nodded when it reported a lack of vitals.

Moving out of the way, she again checked for the status of her dolls. The Phoenix Doll reported it had depleted its entire tank of gas. Normal, as it only contained enough for one use. The others reported lessened energy readings, but were still nominal, with the exception of the one scouting drone. A worried expression formed on her face. The camera still worked, reporting no other surprises were beyond the doorway. Still, she walked forwards, sending her squad of dolls in first to confirm. She then walked over to check on the doll herself. 

She picked it up, glancing over the diagnostics it was reporting, and giving a visual inspection. Light structural damage. The doll's armor had taken the brunt of the impact. The turret, mobility, and camera still functional. It wouldn't need immediate attention. Before getting up, she grabbed her Phoenix Doll, unscrewing the little pressurized tank and storing it in a pouch, before replacing it with a new one.

Alice got back up, glancing over the remaining drones again. With the current energy readings, they wouldn't all last an extended skirmish all firing on an enemy. However, replacing the power cartridges on each one would take time, and she had to regroup with Marisa as soon as possible. She looked down the stairwell she'd entered from only just a little earlier. Unfortunately the ground drones couldn't traverse all these stairs without a great deal of time and energy, both of which she'd need. She'd have to store them up again before she could make her way down.

Pulling at the strings on her dolls, she gave the command for them to fold back up. They complied at once as they quickly began to deconstruct, their strings turning dim at the process completed. She scooped them up, clipping them back onto her dress. She sent her rotor dolls down the stairs first, before taking the first step back towards the ground level. Alice gripped her pistol with both hands. She'd have to be careful, lest there was a third critter waiting in ambush along the way, or more. Without the firepower of a full squad of dolls, she'd have to rely on her heavy blast pistol to do the brunt of the damage. Calculated steps were what got her this far in life, and she wouldn't let some crazed youkai end it quite so easily. Quickly, she began to descend the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

Static filled Marisa's ears as the radio connection came to life once more. In a place as remote as this, signals were hard to transmit without local frequencies. Static was common. "Alice here, two critters down. En route to your position now."

Marisa grinned. Alice wasn't as much of a fighter, but she would be able to handle herself. "Roger roger, I'm exploring the location now. Ain't seen nothin' yet, though." she replied through her sub-vocal microphone.

There was a short pause before the response. "Yeah, I can see that. It's pretty dark, however."

Marisa shook her head in confusion for a second, not quite understanding before her eyes settled on her clothes. Wait a minute.... Her grin shifted into a grimace. "Drat it, are you hidin' cameras on my suit again? I toldja to quit that..."

She could hear Alice snickering on the other end. "If I don't, how will I keep you from doing something stupid? Are you being careful like I asked?"

Marisa sneered. "'Course I am. 'Careful' is my middle name. Right after 'Danger'. And 'Lovely'."

The eye-roll Alice was sure to be giving at that cheesy retort was almost audible through the radio. Her deadpan tone, however, actually was. "That would fit well on your gravestone, I'm sure. Don't go in too far, that's what the dolls are for, to scout ahead."

Marisa nodded to herself. She probably shouldn't be TOO reckless, and the drones might help her find her mark more easily. "Right-o. Send 'em over then, I can wait."

"Roger... three dolls en route. The others will remain outside, I'll tell you if the target leaves another exit of the building." Alice replied, calm and calculating.

"Sounds good! Love 'ya, Alice~" said Marisa, sweetness oozing from her voice. Quickly, she reached to push a button on her earbud, cutting the channel and turning the earpiece off. Alice wouldn't get the chance to chew her ear out for that last comment. Marisa grinned. Her partner was just so much fun to tease.

Marisa swiveled around, alert, raising her gun. She'd made sure not to raise her voice, so nothing was likely to have heard her, but it was good practice to make sure. She toggled the sight modes on her thick aviator goggles, from regular, to night-vision, to thermal. However, there was no heat signature, no movement, nothing but cold, dark halls in the shopping center she was in. She could breathe easy.

Since she had time, she'd be able to search her outfit for that blasted camera Alice had hidden on it. She took a few steps forwards, putting herself into a large brightened shaft of light that rose into a section of broken-out skylight on the ceiling. Her gear shined in the rays of the overcast sun. What she lacked in style, she had far more in protection and utility, compared to Alice's rather frilly dress. Her contour-molded heavy jacket was all black, and quite obviously armored. Her sides were covered in tactical drop pouches, white in contrast, filled with all sorts of vital gear for operations. Her legs were covered by rugged khaki fatigues with extra padding. Her thick combat boots could handle any environment. The only allowance Marisa gave for style was her cavalier hat, which she refused to replace with a proper helmet, even on Alice's insistence.  
Aside from her gear, she shouldered three guns of varying sizes. Aside from her main arm, her trusty revolver was kept holstered to her thigh, and her back shouldered a much bigger weapon - for much bigger foes.  
It was all quite heavy, but Marisa's thin figure did little to hide the packed and toned muscle underneath, with more than enough strength to shoulder it all.

Finally, after minutes of searching, she snagged the micro camera in her fingers. It had been well-concealed in a crease in her shoulder pads, but it well enough to hide it from Marisa's perceptive eyes. Pointing the device - no bigger than a grain of rice - at her face, Alice would know enough upon seeing the gunner's creased frown that she'd found it. She crushed the device into the thin synthleather of her combat glove.

Almost as if on cue, the light buzzing of three rotor drones rang into her ears as they approached Marisa, circling around her. One lowered altitude to hover near her hand, whirring as the camera focused on her glove. It was obviously sending a message from Alice about how displeased she was the hidden camera had been destroyed. Marisa rolled her eyes and made a shooing gesture, pointing down the halls deeper into the shopping center. After a moment more, the drones seemed to comply, flying off to explore deeper in.

Again, Marisa scanned her surroundings, ensuring nothing was watching, before snatching up her InfoTech CommsPad from one of her pouches. The high-tech device blinked to life, showing an array of apps. She ignored them and put the GPS function on display. A map of the building filled the screen, showing three blinking dots where the drones were. Alice was sending real-time data through... whatever techno-magic she used.

She frowned at the device. It was annoying needing to hold it to use the map, but using Augmented Reality gave her a headache. She couldn't figure out how Alice liked it, much less lived with it. Nonetheless, she memorized the layout, noted the drones positioning (and lack of findings thus far), and shut down the display. She was done standing around, and there was work to do.

Soon Marisa's boots crunched against scattered rubble inside the abandoned shopping center. The only natural lighting came from cracks and long-shattered skylights. It was dark, though her night-vision helped. The drones had already been this way, but their sensors could only pick up so much. She had to be careful and alert.

She crept past several abandoned store fronts, looking carefully into each one. They all seemed the same. Shelves toppled, ransacked, dusty. It was impossible to tell what any one store had sold. She was slow and methodical. Her gun was always ready.

Suddenly, she caught a glint in the corner of her eye! Something moved in one of the stores!

Marisa whipped her Heavy Beam Rifle around her side. Knee on the floor. Eye on her sights. Finger on the trigger. 

Silence.  
Stillness.

Marisa reached up to her goggles, briefly toggling the sight mode to thermal. She frowned. No heat signature. What had it been, then?

Getting to her feet, she stepped foot into the store, getting a flashlight out. After a few seconds, something again caught Marisa's eye as it glinted in the light. Warily, she approached, keeping close attention to her surroundings.

Soon Marisa discovered the source: a polished metal ring lie still on the ground, as if untouched by the ruination of this city. What a strange find. Marisa chuckled to herself, feeling a little silly for getting worried over such a small thing. She took a relaxed sigh. "Heh heh... they stay stuff from Mayohiga brings ya' luck..." she muttered to herself as she kneels down to-

ROLL!

Marisa threw herself forward! The hair on her neck shot up, as a crash sounded behind her! She tumbled back to her feet, spinning around. Her eyes barely had time to register the tangle of arms and legs skittering towards her. Her gun whirled around her side as her finger hammered the trigger! Red light and screams filled the room as the rifle dumped its entire load, full auto.

Then silence.  
Stillness.

Marisa's heart raced. A corpse lie still in front of her. Spider youkai. That'd been close. The warning she sensed had been nearly silent.

Marisa dashed to cover and sat down, quickly ejecting the power cartridge of her rifle and replacing it. She did so blindly, eyes focused on her surroundings. She scanned for anything else hidden, or attracted by the noise. She made sure to look up this time.

Time passed, but nothing came. Eventually, Marisa breathed a sigh of relief. A wave of fatigue crashed down upon her as the adrenaline wore off. She'd need a minute longer.

However, the peace wouldn't last. Marisa winced as her earpiece suddenly sputtered and sparked. A familiar buzz began to crackle as the radio forced itself on.

"Marisa! What happened? Are you okay?!" Alice's worried voice yelled into her ear. Alice had obviously hacked her earbud to turn it back on. "Your vitals are showing warnings all over!"

That brought a grin back to Marisa's expression. It was almost comforting knowing Alice cared enough to hack her hardware to ensure she was safe. "Yeah, all clear. Squashed a nasty little bug. Almost got the jump on me. Too bad for it, 'almost' was the key word."

The only sound Marisa got as a reply was a sort of strained screech Marisa could only describe as 'furious'. She winced again as it filled her ear.

Marisa began to reply, but Alice immediately cut her off. "You wait right there! Not an inch!" Alice demanded. "I am almost to your position!"

Again, Marisa attempted to say something, but was only met by her earpiece cracking and snapping as it forced itself to turn off. 

She sighed. Well, at least that gave her reason to sit tight and let the fatigue wear off.


	4. Chapter 4

Alice stomped through the ruin, clenching her fists and grinding her teeth. She gripped her pistol tightly, not out of fear, but out of anger. Around her was a full entourage of dolls. She wasn't being subtle. In fact she almost dared some idiot youkai to appear so that she'd have something to properly take her rage out on.

She couldn't see in the dark either, but that was moot - her dolls were providing a detailed view of of their own. Night vision cameras and other sensors provided a map that was bright as the day and nearly as real. She was barely using her own natural view at this point, as Augmented Reality did all the work.

Augmented Reality also pointed her straight to where Marisa was sitting, and she was making a beeline for the spot. Her eyes bore holes straight into her partner. Around her, tiny little icons popped up, marking each individual piece of electronic gear she had on her - dozens, naturally. Most linked to her InfoTech CommsPad. Which, just as naturally, she'd granted herself full access to. Ages ago, of course. There was little the tech-naive Marisa could do about it either. Mentally, she selected Marisa's goggles and began to project some VERY demanding code at it.

From behind her cover, Marisa could already see Alice and her little army of drones just fine. Despite this, she still found her eyes suddenly burning as they were flooded with a bright, white light. She cried out in pain as she struggled to adjust. Her view was being overwritten with an Augmented Reality display... a feature which she was quite sure she had uninstalled. 

Her familiar green and black nightvision viewpoint was soon replaced by a blinding display. A solid white digital reconstruction of the room, with black outlines detailing every single nook, cranny, corner, and edge. The only non-white things in view now were the drones, and of course, Alice herself. Her colors appeared even more vibrant than if she were outside on a clear day at noon.

Alice stormed into the room as Marisa scrambled to her feet, almost ready to take her goggles off from the nauseating and eye-searing display. She had a cool line prepared and everything, but now she was just spazzing out like an idiot. Although... Alice did look pretty mad. The impression might have been no different, goggles or not.

Marisa had predicted Alice to start ranting about a lot of things when she entered the room. She had prepared a response for any one of these things. Most of them snarky. Marisa had not prepared for what happened next. Alice strode right up to Marisa and balled her hands into a fist. She suddenly reeled back and fired, delivering a solid blow to Marisa's face!

Marisa staggered backwards, pain and surprise overwhelming her in equal measure.

"THAT is for turning your earpiece off!" Alice roared. She couldn't tell if her AR display was turning red by her own accord, or if her skyrocketing blood pressure was literally coloring her vision now.

The pain made Marisa feel dizzy. Her head spun. That awful AR display was not helping. However, she still had enough integrity for a response. She knew when she was undeniably was in the wrong. She attempted to regain her composure, once again gaining her balance. In a serious, firm tone, she replied, "I admit, I deserved that one. It made a selfish, stupid mis-"

Marisa didn't get the chance to finish before Alice's fist walloped her cheek again. Stars filled her vision. Pain exploded like fireworks in her brain. She waved her arms frantically as she tilted backwards, in an effort to stay upright.

"And THAT is for NOT. BEING. CAREFUL!" Alice shouted. With words or with fists, she was determined to beat this concept into her damned partner's brain. "How many times did I tell you to use a little caution before we regrouped?! You are such an idiot! Why do I even work with you!? You know exactly how dangerous it is out here and yet you just waltzed right into an ambush, didn't you?!"

Marisa held her head as the headache set in, trying to keep her focus on Alice. Looking away at this point would just get herself punched again, and she wasn't in a position to defend herself now. She was only barely managing to stay on her feet. She must have looked pretty pitiful.

Alice continued her rant, her tone increasingly more exasperated. "Going around and getting yourself attacked! You could have gotten yourself killed!." Tears began to well in her eyes as she started to break down. "I get so worried about you! You're supposed to watch my back too, but you can barely cover your own! We're supposed to be partners! What am I supposed to do if you die, huh? How selfish are you?"

Marisa cringed. Those words stung pretty hard. Alice looked on the verge of tears. Alice was right, and it made her feel pretty terrible.

But she had an idea to fix this.

Marisa put her hand on Alice's shoulder, giving her best attempt to look sorry for herself. Alice stopped her lecture for a moment, a little confused.

"But Alice... I was thinking about you the entire time..." Marisa replied soothingly. Slowly, she knelt down, picking up the shiny ring that had ended up right at Alice's feet. "I had found this lovely little ring..." she continued, taking Alice's delicate hand in hers. "... and thought it'd bring you luck... set... right... here~" she cooed, slipping the ring through one of Alice's fingers. She looked up into Alice's eyes, giving a heartfelt smile. "Of course, I'd risk my life just to put a smile on your face..."

Alice is taken aback in surprise as her face flushed to a deep crimson. She visibly shook as her expression formed a volatile mix of grief, anger, and embarrassment. "Why... you...!" she stammered. "I should smack you again for that...!"

Alice clamped her fist. She almost followed up with her threat, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Despite that dumb, idiot grin on Marisa's face - a perfect compliment to the dumb, idiot bruise beside it - she just looked too pitiful to hit again. She had tried so hard to be sincere. Alice glanced down at the ring on her hand. It was probably worthless. Though... she couldn't muster the effort to take it off .

Alice let out a long, deep sigh. "I give up. Being angry at you is just a waste of energy."

Marisa stood back on her feet and grinned back. She then winced as the pain in her cheek intensified. She rubbed it, retorting, "Well it can't have been a total waste, ya' really managed ta' clock me a good couple of times." Though she admits, "I guess I did deserve it."

"You sure did!" Alice agreed, irritated. "I really wish I'd saved it until after the mission, but ugh, you are such an idiot. Having you hurt is a disadvantage now. We need all the edge we can get to fight our mark." she commented, pulling Marisa's head by the chin to give the bruise a closer inspection.

"Oh, Alice~ Save the kissing 'till -after- the mission~" Marisa mocked in a tantalizing fashion. Their faces were so close, it'd almost be too easy to sneak one in if she dared.

A small beep sounded in Alice's ear, alerting her. She shoved Marisa away, tugging at the virtual string of the doll that'd pinged her. "Wait, I've got something..." She enlarged the camera feed from the drone. One of the scouts had spotted movement... but now it was gone... "What was that...?" she asked herself aloud, She began pulling and manipulating the string, giving the doll orders. It searched the dark room carefully, trying to pick up movement again. "Come on... where is it...?"

Suddenly, Alice jumped as the screen was filled by something's snarling face, and immediately followed by the feed cutting out and the string going limp. The doll had perished. "Damn!" she cursed.

Marisa frowned, out of the loop. She fiddled with her goggles to turn the mode back to night-vision. Between that and her cheek, she was getting a splitting headache. She looked back at Alice. To Marisa, Alice was just waving her arms in the air at something she couldn't see. "What happened?" she asked.

She pulled up the last bit of footage the doll had provided, the face of the thing that had destroyed it. It only took a second for her to recognize what it was. "Aha! That's our mark!" Alice shouted, astonished. She looked back at her confused partner. "It took out one of the scouts, but now we know where to find it - and to kill it ourselves."

Marisa grinned ear to ear. That was the best news she'd heard all day. "Great! Lead the way then, we've got some ass to kick!" Marisa raised her gun, ready to move.

"Alright, this way." Alice pointed, letting Marisa take the lead. Alice had the map, but she only needed to give Marisa verbal directions. They exited the ruined shop, moving at a brisk pace. Alice quickly started to guide them towards where the scout doll had last been. The sooner they finished this fight, the sooner they could collect the bounty. Then go home.


	5. Chapter 5

Marisa and Alice moved silently through the ruins as they neared the location. They laid low and crept along to the entrance of a huge room at the heart of the shopping center The drones had been set to run silently, and crawled forwards at a snail's pace. It was much brighter in here, as the ceiling high above was filled with skylights. The ground below, in contrast, was strewn with extensive piles of rubble.

"This is the place." Alice whispered over comms. Although they were just feet from each other, it was wise to keep quiet. They'd have an advantage that way if they saw it first, and it wouldn't be able to jump them so easily if it didn't hear them coming.

"Good of a lair as any." Marisa agreed, peeking her head around the corner. She switched to thermals, scanning the chamber for anything warm.

Alice continued to pull at her strings, guiding her dolls to move to strategic locations. "Dolls are in position, covering the other exits." They didn't want the mark getting away so easily.

Marisa frowned. It'd been three minutes. No matter where she looked, she couldn't find a thing. She searched the floors, the walls, the ceiling... There were no abnormal heat signatures. "Ugh, there's nothin' here. Where could it have gone?"

The news made Alice frown as well. "My dolls haven't seen anything leave, and the few outside have been watching the building exits... Hmmm..." Just then, another beep interrupted Alice. She looked surprised. "Wait... my dolls outside are picking up something... it's... flying? There's something flying in...!" Alice gasped.

Marisa watched from around the corner. A sorrowful bird's call echoed through the room as a large creature flew in from the ceiling, entering through a collapsed section of the skylight mesh. Marisa zoomed in with her goggles for a closer look... It was a monster, barely human-looking. It possessed long, feathered wings, and a huge, muscular snake tail. Its arms and legs ended in broad tiger paws, which seemed to be gripping an animal's carcass.

Quickly, it moved to an alcove near the floor, dug from the rubble. As it landed, its back bubbled and cracked as the wings tore and morphed into several long tentacles. All at once, there was a mess of tentacles and paws as it tore into the corpse, rending tendons from flesh. It cried out again with its birdlike call, saddening and eerie. Then it dug in.

"That looks like our guy, yeah. Class II Changeling, Designation 'Nue'. It's distracted right now, we should move in," Marisa affirmed. Class II was a fair threat, though not compared to Class III. Marisa only knew of a single Class III 'Nue', and she'd rather not fight -that- one without a small army behind her.

Alice nodded. "I moved the dolls outside to cover the ceiling. It won't be escaping out that way."

Marisa motioned a hand inwards. "Alright then, let's go."

They begin sneaking into the area, moving towards a position in the center where they'd have plenty of space to move. Slowly, but surely they crept in, The soft crunch of their shoes was drowned out by the ripping and tearing of flesh. The noise it made left Alice feeling nauseated. Marisa crawled behind a rusted, upended food stall, placing her gun over the top as she lined up a shot. Alice began moving her small army of drones into the location, spacing them out so they couldn't be all attacked at once. Alice herself hid under a hunk of twisted metal that might have resembled an escalator to the second floor. Alice didn't need to fight directly - the dolls would be her weapon.

All the units were moving into position. Everything was going smoothly, until suddenly, the beast stopped eating, It looked up from its meal. Something had caught its eye. Perhaps the glint of light from a moving drone? Or perhaps Marisa's luxurious hat had given her away. 

The creature tossed aside the scraps of meat that were left, and stood up. It took an aggressive stance as it surveyed its lair, bristling with hatred as it sensed intruders within. It puffed up, and unleashed an ear-piercing "SCREEEEE!" as it vaulted into the air. Rapidly, its tentacles merged back into wings, as it took to the skies.

"FIRE AWAY!" Marisa whooped as she launched a trio of bolts at the Nue. It swerved sideways, screeching as the bolts narrowly hit. Quickly the battle animated to life as the various drones began blasting and moving around from all over.

However, this youkai was much more crafty than those before it. It was -fast-. It flew through the air in unpredictable patterns, making it hard to hit. Laser bolts grazed and whizzed off mark. Expertly, it swooped at the airborne drones, attempting to pick them off one by one. It slashed at the drones with its huge claws, trying to knock them out of the air. Though they were tough, fighting back with their turrets, but the drones proved to be no match for the vicious youkai. Soon one drone was smashed into scrap, followed by another.

This was all part of the plan. The drones were mere distractions and covering fire for Marisa. With each instance it stopped to try to rend a drone with its claws, she fired another three laser shots towards the Nue. They usually hit the mark, and it cried out in pain each time flesh was seared by the light. The damage was slowly building up, despite the rapid regeneration the changeling possessed.

Once more the beast swooped in at a drone, slashing it with bloodied claws. The drone sputtered as the rotor was hit, sending it helplessly down towards the ground. But again, Marisa aimed and fired her heavy lasers. Finally, she scored a direct hit on one of the critter's wings. It screeched in surprise as the wing was damaged, sending it tumbling to the floor. 

It acted quickly, rolling as it landed, and keeping mobile. An awful crunch of bones sounded as it forced its wings into tentacles a second time. They seemed to glisten now, hardened with armor. The Nue turned to face Marisa. Now it recognized the real threat here. The human.

Marisa grinned as she loaded a fresh power cartridge into her gun. "You want some of this, ugly?" she taunted, bringing her gun up to aim. "Come and get it."

Angered, the Nue let out a deafening "KREEEEE!". It charged at Marisa, bearing its fangs. It set its tentacles forward, ready to rip apart the human girl.

"No better than the rest!" Marisa shouts. She flicked the firing mode to Full Auto, and let loose. She swiftly rose from her cover and moved back, streaming out lasers from her weapon as the Nue charged forwards. It rushed back and forth, not charging from a single direction. It was smart, attempting to avoid the full brunt of Marisa's assault. It was deft, but Marisa's aim was better. 

The Nue screamed and yowled at Marisa as she expertly held it off. Marisa rushed through the rubble, letting the monster gain no ground as she battered it with laser fire.

Finally, with a pained screech, the Nue relented just as Marisa's cartridge ran out of juice. Seeing the opportunity, the changeling scampered backwards itself, retreating behind a large pile of rubble to try and heal its wounds.

Marisa stooped into cover herself, popping out the cartridge and slamming another home. "Alright Alice, it's time we finish this!" she hollered. 

She then stood back up, letting go of her assault rifle. As the gun bounced on the sling against her shoulder, she reached around and loosed a clip holding the huge weapon strapped to her backside, She quickly caught and hefted the weight forwards. It was a large metal box with a nozzle jutting out. It almost looked makeshift in appearance as two handles were welded and wired onto the box. Opposite of the handles, an oversized battery was also wired in. The Master Armament's Specialized Portable Aeroblast Rocket Kannon. A rocket thruster that had been designed, built, and then weaponized by Marisa Kirisame. Alice had thought it was the most ridiculous thing ever conceived, but Marisa was proud of it. It produced results.

Marisa gripped the handle tightly, clamping down on the button to start it up. A terrible noise filled the air as the S.P.A.R.K began to rumble to life. It slowly warmed up as it charged the power needed to fire her shot. "Flush it out before it can recover! I'm gonna end it for good!"

"Leave it to me!" Alice acknowledged. Most of the remaining drones in the room zeroed in on the pile the Nue hid behind, bombarding the creature with more laser blasts. 

Aggressively, the Nue once again jumped out of cover, smashing one of the drones with a tentacle. It fiercely fought back, trying to keep the drones and their beams at bay. "SCREEEE!" it bellowed again, enraged. Its tentacles thrashed about, crushing two of the drones at once. It had been backed into a corner now, and its injuries had gotten severe. It was no longer fighting for its territory, or to devour some opportune prey, but fighting to stay alive.

Alice cringed. Every time the Nue had crushed or smashed a doll, it sent a wave of shock back at her. The heavy losses her band of dolls had sustained made her panic a bit. "I can't keep this up, Marisa! Just finish it off!" Alice yells, sending the injured ones rushing back towards Marisa.

Marisa stood her ground, digging her feet in as the Master S.P.A.R.K. roared louder still. The inside was burning white hot as the pistons fired, and the chamber held back a deep well of fire almost ready to be unleashed. "Just a little more...! Concentrate the firepower...!"

The critter thrashed about, flinging away the last of the drones with its tentacles. The drones went into full retreat, unable to continue their fight. "Only one doll left, Marisa! Fire your weapon already!" Alice called.

With the drones gone, the changeling swung around towards the new thunderous sound. The human! The accursed human!

Their eyes met.

Marisa narrowed hers, sneering.

The Nue's eyes opened wide. From the depths of its throat, it let out a guttural, terrifying cry.

It went berserk, charging straight at Marisa. Its tentacles crossed in front of it. They acted as a shield. 

Marisa did not budge. A pin behind the S.P.A.R.K. launched downwards, anchoring the weapon to the floor. A few more seconds...!

The beast rushed forwards, ready to set upon Marisa, when suddenly, a plume of napalm shot out from below the human! The Phoenix Doll stood between girl and the Nue, attempting to roast the creature!

But the Nue sprang back, howling at the heat! It only lasted a short second, finally leaving nothing between the two!

The youkai screamed again as it flew towards the damned human, "SCREEE! SCREEEEE!!"

The thruster vibrated in Marisa's hands. She braced herself as she released the catch! "Enjoy the stars, 'cause that's all you'll soon be seein'!" she roared back!

A massive pillar of flame erupted from the Master S.P.A.R.K., engulfing the Nue midair with immense heat and power. It wailed in agony as it was propelled backwards by the full force of the rocket thruster. It burned in the blaze, slamming roughly against the far wall. It continued to be assaulted by the flames.

Marisa grit her teeth as she endured the thrust of her own rocket engine, struggling to keep it aimed forwards. She had to keep the anchoring pin from bending backwards and letting the weapon give her a face full of rocket fuel as well. Her goggles darkened to protect her eyes from the searing light as the room brightened like the surface of the sun.

The massive blast of energy continued to flood from the nozzle, before finally slowing down and come to a dying halt. Smoke continued to pour from the nozzle as the engine began to coll down. 

For a moment, the room became silent.

The anchoring pin retracted back into the Master S.P.A.R.K. as Marisa released the handles, letting it clatter to the ground. She lifted her goggles from off of her eyes. The glass was becoming foggy from the nearby heat of the engine. She surveyed the damage she'd wrought.

The critter had slumped to the ground. Charred-black skin covered huge chunks of its body. It appeared lifeless.


	6. Chapter 6

"Yeah! Ha ha!" Marisa laughed. She was bristling with the excitement, and basking in the triumph of the kill. "Got 'em!" the gunner cheered. "Works every time!"

Alice stepped out from her hiding spot, a sense of relief washing over her. "If only at the cost of my sanity." she said, with a sigh. "How typical of you to wait until it's moments from killing you to fire that outrageous weapon."

"Relax, it's dead, and I'm not, as usual. That's the important thing, ain't it?" Marisa retorted, grinning. "I always come through in the end." Marisa crouched down to inspect her S.P.A.R.K., checking for any signs of wear or damage. It was a shame she could only fire it full-blast once per charge. "Fightin's all about firepower, after all. It's gotta be flashy, so I can impress you with my bewitching charms." she added, with a chuckle.

"I can assure you that you're having the opposite effect." Alice deadpanned, rolling her eyes. She picked up one of the injured drones and began to scan it, calculating how much time she'd need to repair it, or if she even could. "That mindset is going to get yourself killed one day. A single mistimed second, and like that, it's over."

"Ufufufu... Assure yourself as much as ya' want, but I know you still love me~" Marisa teased. "I wouldn't worry so much, I'm a professional, after all."

"Ugh, and I question why every hour." Alice scoffed. "Anyway, Miss Professional, go make sure that thing is dead." Alice ordered, mockingly. "Our client wants physical proof, too. I'll leave that disgusting task up to you."

Marisa continued to grin, bringing her arm to bear, and looking back at the Nue. "Ya' really think I need to double tap it? Well, whatever." she said with a shrug, walking over towards the burned corpse. She held the rifle in one hand as she pulled out her survival knife, aiming the gun at the creature's scorched head. "Looks like you lose."

At that moment, a tentacle whipped at Marisa, smacking the gun out of her hand. The Nue's eyes shot open, still burning with fury.

"What in Makai!?" Marisa cursed, startled. she dropped the knife, reaching for the rifle that had come to rest at her hip.

The beast didn't allow her the chance. It jumped to its feet and spun with all its might, catching Marisa with the sweep of its snake tail. The gunner was crushed against the wall behind them. "SKRAAAAAAAW!" the Nue gave a hoarse cry.

Alice turned around, yelling "Marisa!!" in alarm. She pulled out her pistol and frantically began to fire, but the monster meshed its tentacles behind it, and the lasers seemed to burn uselessly into the armored carapace.

Marisa gasped sharply as the air was knocked from her lungs. Pain erupted from her chest and back. She was disoriented, but she still reached for her gun. She looked up just in time to see the critter jumping at her. She acted fast, holding her weapon up as a shield. The Nue crashed down on her, paws smashing against Marisa's assualt rifle. 

"SKRAAW! SCREEEEEEEEEE!" The Nue screeched as loudly as it could, roaring at the woman who had caused it so much pain.

Marisa's ears were ringing. Behind the youkai, she could see Alice and her drones approaching and shooting, but they'd be too late if she didn't act NOW. The changeling was crushing her with its weight and fury.

Marisa watched in horror as the creature's head snapped and popped. It's jaw unhinged itself, more toothy bones growing from its gaping mouth. Its neck began to bend unnaturally off of its shoulders as it reached down to tear her face off.

She scowled, staring into the face of death. "Ya really want to eat me that bad, huh?" She wasn't going to let it win. She wrenched an arm from underneath her rifle, the other pinned down as she struggled as hard as she could to keep its claws from tearing into her.

She had one last gun strapped to her waist, Blazing Star, her revolver. 

As the Nue went to bite off Marisa's face, instead it clamped down on an arm, shoved into its cavernous maw. Cold metal pressed against the roof of its mouth.

Marisa grit her teeth, and shuddered from the intense pain. She hissed one last thing before she pulled the trigger. "Eat this."

Suddenly, the Nue's skull splattered all over the gunner, as the explosive bullet went straight into its brain and erupted. The body sagged down, very dead.

Marisa grunted as she pried the corpse's mouth open. Blood spilled out of her arm from where the jagged and broken teeth had sunk past her skin. She had to bite her lip to keep from screaming in pain.

"Marisa!! Marisa!!" Alice shouted, looking flustered as she rushed over to aid her partner. She helped Marisa shove the body off of her, and immediately pulled out a small medkit from her pocket. It was also a drone, and she quickly set it to begin running a full diagnostics scan on the injured girl. It went to work, looking for injured areas and injecting fast-acting drugs. Alice pulled out yet more medical supplies, focusing on staunching the blood flow from Marisa's arm, and sterilizing the wounds. In her AR view, she had cleared everything out of the way to focus solely on the task of treating her partner.

Marisa managed a weak smile, coughing. She felt so tired... so sore.. the adrenaline had run empty... She winced as the drone crawled over her, poking her with needles and prodding her with sensors. She groaned. "Hnnng.. I told 'ya I was a professional..." she said, managing to still joke despite feeling horrible. "How impressive ...was that?"

Alice frowned, not in the mood. She was too worried to return any banter, and the bleeding had to be stopped. "It was very impressive, but... ugh, this was all my fault!" Alice was rife with worry, and all the ways she could have prevented this flew through her head. "I should have just sent a drone to check its vitals, but I was too preoccupied with doting over the injured dolls..."

"Eh? You should know better than ta' blame yourself like that, Alice. It was a crafty critter, I'll give it that, but not as crafty as me." Marisa said knowingly. "This is nothin'. Let's get movin'." Marisa insisted, shifting and trying to get back to her feet. A fresh wave of pain erupted from her torso, stopping the attempt. "Ooooch! Ow ow ow! That's a broken rib." she said in a strained voice. She shifted back, flinching again. "Maybe two."

"Quit moving!" Alice scolded, holding Marisa down as she continued to work on her arm. "You're making it worse, so keep quiet!" she insisted, watching Marisa's vitals dip slightly with the injuries aggravated. The bleeding had begun to subside now that she'd treated it with a clotting gel, thankfully. She took out a needle and thread. She'd need to stitch the arm up to completely close the wound. It wouldn't help the internal damage to the tendons, the bone, the muscles. Stopping the girl from bleeding out was the main priority. What they did with the limp limb could wait.

"Alright, alright, fine." Marisa replied grumpily. The drugs began to take effect, and the pain was starting to drain away. She winced every time Alice poked her with her needle, but even that was starting to fade with time.

A few minutes passed as Alice continued her work. Eventually the arm was stitched up, and the bruises had been treated for now. The broken ribs would likely need magic or advanced care... but that would have to wait until they returned home. 

Alice sighed and gave the okay to move once more. "Despite your best efforts, it appears you'll live through this day after all." Alice concluded, in a lightly mocking tone. "The morphine should last long enough to get you home, to get some better treatment for those ribs." Alice offered her hand to help her partner up.

"The best one can expect from Doctor Alice." Marisa thanked. Alice was right, the pain was light, though it was a temporary measure for sure. She took Alice's hand, stumbling as she was pulled back to her feet. The drugs were making her woozy, making it a little hard to keep herself upright. She braced her hands on Alice's shoulders for support. She grinned as she came face to face with the puppeteer. "Well, aside from the 'proof', there's just one more thing to collect before we head on home." 

Alice gave her partner a curious look. She was certain they had completed everything in the mission. They had only needed to kill the changeling, really, though ridding these outskirts of a few more feral youkai was always a bonus. "I don't understand, Marisa. The mission is over. What else could we possibly need?"

"Ufufu... my reward~" Marisa says, suddenly pulling Alice inward and embracing in a kiss. Alice looked surprised, but quickly settled into it, letting go of her thoughts.

They closed their eyes, sharing the moment together for almost a minute. It felt warm and sweet, in contrast to the barren ruins around them. Though little time passed, it seemed like it had lasted for days.

Finally they parted, both smiling. "Ahh... I suppose you deserved that one. We did agree to wait until after the mission, after all." Alice conceded, looking deep into her partner's eyes. 

"There's plenty more where that came from, and plenty of free time ahead, after we collect the cash~" Marisa enticingly added.

"That's if you can still move once we run out of painkillers." Alice reminded her.

Marisa waved it off. "Bah, a little pain and effort is always worth a fun payoff."

Alice sighed. Typical Marisa. "Well, let's not stand around any longer. You can flirt all you want on the ride back home. It'll be a long trip."

"I'll take you up that offer!" Marisa grinned from ear to ear, pumping her fist with excitement. The movement also made her wince in pain, however. She needed to take it more easy. Recovering, she hobbled over to where she dropped the knife, and got back to her task.


	7. Epilogue

A day had passed. The sun hung low in the sky overlooking a bustling metropolis. It was quiet as cars rode through the streets, with only the low hum of electric engines, and whir of tires on asphalt. They moved about in an orderly fashion, like cogs in a machine. As one would expect when the cars drove themselves. The hustle and bustle of the city was dying down just a bit, as some stores were beginning to close for the night, and people were headed home. Those that toiled their long hours looked forwards to their designated break and sleep periods, before they'd have to go back the next day.

However, the peace and order was broken, if only for a moment. A motorcycle flew down the streets. Though it too was electric, extensive modification had given it back the rightful engine roar it deserved. The machine looked imposing and dangerous; it was heavily armored and the nozzle of a rocket's thruster lay open on the back like a dragon's maw. Its speed and handling were also as how a real chopper should have been, as it weaved and zipped through the automated grid. It ignored seemingly every limit and law in place. Soon, however, it was gone, vanishing deep into the slums on the edge of the city.

Within the deepest reaches of the slums of the city, the chopper finally arrived at the site of an old shrine, built in times long past. The wooden structure seemed to defy the metal and earth of the urban jungle around it.

"After you~" Marisa said politely, extending a helping hand as Alice climbed off the bike. 

Though she didn't need help, Alice took the hand anyway, snickering at Marisa's contrived attempt at being a gentleman. "I suppose you're going to help me open the door, too?" she asked.

Marisa grinned as she climbed off the bike herself. "But of course! Anything for a charming girl such as yourself~" Marisa continued to hold her partner's hand as they walked towards the entrance. Marisa hoisted a bag onto her other shoulder as they left the bike behind.

A small girl sat on the porch of the shrine, sleeping against one of the wooden beams. Though she looked like a normal young child at first glance, the bottle of sake held in her hand, the battle axe at rest behind her that was as large as she was, and the large horns adorning her head seemed to indicate otherwise. As Marisa and Alice approached, she opened a single eye, turning her head ever so slightly to observe the visitors. Marisa paused to turn and give the girl a smirk, but the girl seemed to dismiss them, closing her eye and going back to sleep. The two continued inside.

The inside of the shrine was in surprisingly good shape for a slum abode, if somewhat spartan. The only exception seemed to be the empty bottles of sake strewn on the floor. They made a trail leading from the door to a small table, where a young woman sat. The young woman, dressed a traditional miko outfit - which was an odd sight even at proper shrines in this day and age - carefully was etching groves into thin metal needles. Her bored expression quickly shifted to one of interest as Marisa and Alice walked in the door.

"Oi Reimu, we're back!" Marisa announced. She gently tossed her bag to the floor, and a bottle of sake rolled out alongside a heaping pile of stacked cash wads.

Reimu seemed to shift back to a bored look as she reached for the bottle. "What took you so long?" she asked, unimpressed. "Did you decide to take a day off with Alice?"

Alice snaped back, "And I suppose you've been hard at work, with this mess you've left?" Alice flicked her eyes to the bottles littering the tatami. "Clearly a productive use of time and money, looks like! Or was enjoying yourself while we risked our lives just a bonus for you?"

"We both know it takes time for me to enchant these needles and other thnigs for my work, and how draining it is..." Reimu complained. Her eyebrow shifted up slightly as she inspected the bottle. A decent vintage. Her expression otherwise doesn't seem to react to Alice's words. "Obviously most of this was Suika, I need time to recover too." Reimu looked back at Alice, unamused. "You would know better than anyone, that all things that use energy need time to recharge. You just need Marisa's bed to do it yourself."

Alice looked about ready to explode at the shrine maiden, but was interrupted when Marisa grabbed her opposite shoulder with one hand and pulled Alice in, their sides bumping right together. "Now now girls," Marisa chided, "We all know Alice is very pretty, cute, and I love her dearly." Alice promptly shut her mouth, deciding instead to just glare at Reimu in leiu of arguing with her. She didn't want to risk further embarrassment.

"Now, let's all sit down for a bit and enjoy the nice sake I got. We just completed a mission, I think this calls for a llttle celebratin'!" Marisa cheered. "I say we get drunk and save arguin' over who wants my hot bod' more for another day!"

That finally broke Reimu's uncaring shell as she cracked a bemused smile. "Tch, I can at least agree to one of those things. Hopefully we'll be able to actually get drunk before Suika-"

As if on cue, the door behind them flew open as the horned little girl stumbled in, dragging her axe behind her. "Hic'! I he'rd sum'one mentionin' a 'ice sake!" she slured, obviously already hammered. "Yoo guis' ain't holdin' ou' on me, are yoos?" Her eyes quickly zero in on the bottle in Reimu's hands. "'Gimmie!" she demanded.

Marisa turned to the short oni and smiled. "'Course I didn't forget about our toughest member! In fact, I accounted for it!" she lifted up her oversized caviler hat, and revealed another bottle of the same sake. She held it out in front of Suika, who promptly snatched it up. "Now we can all enjoy some together while we talk, eh?"

Suika nodded, grinning from ear to ear. She plodded over to the table and eagerly popped the cork off her bottle, taking a long swig. She sighed in content at the taste. 

Alice watched the scene play out, giving a small groan. She wondered how she had ever gotten bunched in with this band of misfits. She looked at her partner. She pondered how she'd managed to stay sane around her so long. She didn't think much, already knowing the answers, and gave another small groan in defeat. Everyone else seemed to be having a good time, she supposed she could live a little and enjoy it too She followed Marisa over to the table.

Reimu got up and produced some small cups to drink out of, as Alice and Marisa sat down. Drinks were served, and after a round or two everyone soon were merry. They made a night of it, and Marisa and Alice told their story of how they fared in Mayohiga. How youkai had ambushed them and gotten them separated. How they had regrouped and took out the changeling. How they had managed to bribe a mage into giving Marisa a quick but effective fix. Suika was entertained, Reimu was impressed just a little, and they all enjoyed the story. 

After the tale, Marisa tapped her glass against the bottle, bringing attention to herself. "Alright, and now that we got the booze and the rundown, it's time ta' talk about the results. After expenses, we got just enough money ta' cover livin' for the next month." she announced. "However, just livin's pretty lame, so I got us a new mission ta' undertake to rake in some extra cash!" Though everyone was at least a little tipsy, they were all ears now. "So I heard from a little birdie that the Gaphag and her cronies have developed a prototype for a new flyin' technology. I reckon if we borrow the design docs, we could pawn it off to the kappa for a good price!" she eagerly disclosed.

Marisa suddenly looked a little alert, remembering something. Maybe she was getting a little too tipsy, because she forgot to clog the 'waves first. She produced a small box and flicked a switch on the side. White noise and jamming signals begin to silently fill the air around them. Only then did she continue. "Now, here's what I know, and here's what I think we oughta do..."

*(@%^_+^@##% SIGNAL LOST *!%&)#$& TRANSMISSION END #^(@%^#$!


End file.
